Paquebot Covers: Mailed on the High Seas
by John Burnett (EPH6)
Originally published in Linns Stamp News
One of the items on the agenda of the 1897 meeting of the Universal Postal Union held in Washington D.C., was what to call and what to do with mail posted on the high seas.
This mail was taken by the ship and dropped off at an overseas port for dispatch
The decision of the UPU was to use the French word "Paquebot" meaning packet boat, a ship operating over a regular, scheduled route.
On mail "Paquebot" (usually capitalized or in all capital letters) means "packet boat mail", and refers to an item mailed on a ship.
Most international agreements of the 19th century used the French language, as it was the recognized language of diplomacy, so the use of the word Paquebot is in line with international practices.
I have always found it strange that there are other similar markings found on ship mail and I have not been able to find out why these similar markings came to be.
Other Paquebot markings I have seen are "Posted on Board’, Ship Letter", "Ship Mail", "Packet", "Posted at Sea", and "Posted on the High Seas."
Figure 1 shows a cover bearing the red King George V stamp of Canada, Scott 197, issued December 1, 1932
Figure 1 - The "Paquebot Posted at Sea" marking on this cover means it was mailed at sea. It entered the postal system at Glasgow, Scotland on September 6, 1935.
The cover was posted on board the Duchess of Atholl at the ships purser’s office on September 7, 1935 according to the cachet struck lightly at the covers left side.
The letter was dropped into the British mails at Glasgow Scotland and bears the Glasgow machine cancel with a "Paquebot Posted at Sea" killer.
The Glasgow date in the cancel is September 6, 1935
My guess is that the Glasgow date is correct and that the letter was actually mailed at the purser’s office on September 5, 1935, as the ship is listed as arriving at Glasgow on September 6.
While Paquebot markings are not exactly plentiful, there are sufficient number of covers available to form a most interesting collection.
These covers can bear Canadian stamps used abroad or foreign stamps used in Canada.
Canadian covers are known with "Paquebot" cancellations from the following locales: Austria, Puerto Rico, Philippine Islands, Hong Kong, Hawaii, Bermuda, Jamaica, Trinidad, Indonesia, Fiji, Japan, Barbados, France, New Zealand, St. Vincent, Montserrat, British Guyana, Tanganyika, England, Tahiti, and South Africa.
One area of Paquebot cancels requires you look closely at the cover and its cancel. Mail from Canadian ships calling on Canadian ports require close scrutiny. Such covers will be franked with Canadian stamps and will be cancelled with Canadian "Way Mail" cancels.
Figure 2 shows an example of such a cover, another cover franked with the red George V 3˘ stamp. The cover was mailed at Prince Rupert, British Columbia and carried to Vancouver for posting.
Figure 2 - The killer of the machine cancel on this cover reads "Way Mail," meaning the cover was delivered via ship operating along the coast of British Columbia. This 1934 cover was carried from Prince Rupert to Vancouver.
The cover is machine cancelled June 21, 1934, with a straight line "Way Mail" killer.
Such covers are referred to as "coast mail covers."
Covers franked with non Canadian stamps will generally bear a "Paquebot Posted at Sea" marking or a circular marking with five lines reading "Paquebot Posted at Sea Received (date) Post Office."
Figure 3 picture a great example of such a cover, one bearing a United States 3˘ Washington Inauguration Sesquicentennial commemorative stamp of 1932.
Figure 3 - Although it bears a United States Washington Inauguration stamp, this cover was mailed onboard a ship and entered the postal system at Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The cover was mailed on board the SS Fort Townsend and was dropped off for posting on May 29, 1939, at Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the circular Paquebot marking was applied. The cover also caries the SS Fort Townsend "Posted at Sea" Cachet.
Figure 4 shows a cover bearing a nice copy of Canada’s green 1˘ King George V Medallion stamp. The cover was mailed onboard the Japanese vessel Hikawa Maru on Christmas day 1932. The cover is franked with a 1˘ stamp because that was the rate for a circular (a Christmas card qualified for that rate in Canada at that time) and that rate applied on board the Japanese steamer.
The envelope is not sealed as was required for the rate.
Figure 4 - This Paquebot (Packet Boat) cover, mailed at the 1˘ circular rate, was posted on board a Japanese ship.
The cover has a nice boxed "Paquebot" strike on the front, a mark applied at the receiving post office, probably one on the west coast of the United States.
A number of excellent references exist for Paquebot markings. Because of the serendipitous nature of markings (they can be applied to mail almost anywhere), the reference are usually world wide in scope.
Roger Hosking’s Paquebot Cancellations of the World published in a second edition in 1987, catalogs and values Paquebot markings of the world.
Edwin Drechsel wrote a series of three booklets about Paquebot markings. The booklets predate Hosking’s second edition, but his works are still worth having.
Literature dealers should be able to help you locate these books.
Collecting Paquebot markings can be fun and challenging, such markings are studied by the Slogan Cancel Study group within the British North America Philatelic Society.
|
